


Lupin III: The Amber Adventure

by Kamisa



Category: Lupin III
Genre: (unless I change my mind), Comedy, Gen, Heist, fujiko is bi, no romantic ralationships - only jokes and baits like in the original series
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-12
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:48:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 21,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21772483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kamisa/pseuds/Kamisa
Summary: Lupin the Third in Poland! The grandson of the most famous French thief this time targets Szczerbiec - the coronation sword of Polish kings. Who would expect a thief to be tempted by such antique when a diamond exhibition is taking place in Paris? But the sword is just the beginning of the adventures of Lupin and his gang in Poland.***Each chapter is a different "episode", but the "main plot", as the title suggests, will focus on ambers.
Comments: 9
Kudos: 15





	1. Szczerbiec

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Lupin III: Bursztynowa przygoda](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21482203) by [Kamisa](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kamisa/pseuds/Kamisa). 



> Yay, I finally translated it! This is the first chapter of something like the next part of Lupin's adventures, I was even considering giving him new colour of jacket (the purple one).   
> Part IV was in Italy, Part V in France so decided "My Part" will take place in Poland, because in the whole franchise the gang was here only once, if I remeber corectly ("Goodbye Partner" special, the Chopin Competition) and well, I won't have to do almost any research since I live here :")  
> Anyways I hope you'll enjoy this!

„What the heck is this?”

„The car” said Lupin, brilliantly as always, wearing his characteristic monkeyish smile. Jigen only sighed deeply, blowing a cloud of smoke from his mouth.

„I’d argue.”

„Come on, Jigen dear, jump in and don’t complain.”

Without waiting for the friend's reaction, Lupin opened the driver's door with panache and settled in the small space of Fiat 126p as comfortable as possible. Jigen threw out the unburned cigarette, crushed it with his foot and, when he closed the car door behind him, he pulled another one out of his pocket. It was so crumpled that he probably stayed in one piece only for the word of honor.

One would like to say that Lupin started out of the parking lot with a squeak of tires, but in fact the green Toddler started only after three coughs and one firm blow to the steering wheel. Lupin laughed nervously, saying something about the top of Polish technical thought, which Jigen could only answer with a sarcastic smile. However, the car finally moved, gaining speed on a bumpy and holey road.

Due to the lack of space, Jigen was forced to sit like a normal human being, although he was just fiddling with the chair, trying to move it as far back as possible to be able to fold more comfortably. In the end he reached something like a compromise, putting his foot on his leg, and elbow sticking out of the window. He even managed to relax for a second when something hit the roof of the car. Lupin immediately pressed the brake, and Jigen hurriedly picked up the cigarette that landed on his lap.

"Hi" Goemon said, hopping to the ground.

„Jesus Christ”

„Gyahihihihi, you can't scare Jigen so much, Goemon, or our old man will have a heart attack.”

"Fuck you," Jigen commented, stepping out of the Toddler so he could slide the chair and let the samurai into the back seat.

"Forgive me, Jigen," Goemon muttered, sitting down. The man waved his hand and, taking his place, returned to adjusting the chair so that both he and the samurai would be at least a little comfortable.

„I didn't expect you so soon. Weren’t you supposed to arrive tomorrow?”

“I managed to get everything done earlier. Besides, Lupin insisted I fly to Poland as soon as possible.”

“Exactly. There is no time to lose, the next adventure is waiting!” Lupin shouted. He adjusted his mirror to see Goemon. “We have a sword to steal.”

“Sword?”

The samurai raised an eyebrow.

”Sword. Szczerbiec, to be more specific.”

“Shu-shuche-ru ... What?” Jigen tried to repeat the foreign sounding word, but gave up quickly. He really admired Lupin's linguistic abilities. Sometimes it would seem that this guy anywhere in the world would get along with the natives, and even impersonate one of them.

" _S_ _hcher-_ _biec_ ," Lupin repeated slower. "It means a chipped sword."

"Who needs the not cutting sword?"

"Arayayayaya Goemon-chan, Goemon-chan, not every sword must be as great and sharp as your Zantetsuken to be useful to us." Lupin changed his position a bit and began his lecture, rhythmically tapping the steering wheel. “This is one of the most important and valuable Polish relics, the coronation sword of the former Piast dynasty. It is usually kept in Krakow, in the Crown Treasury at the castle, but is now to be taken to the exhibition in Warsaw. I already have information about the convoy and a good buyer in Berlin.” concluded with a broad smile.

"I just hope this information doesn't come from Fujiko." Jigen said and Goemon nodded from the back.

“Ah, Fujicakes, my beloved Fujicakes!” Lupin shouted, throwing his hands up dramatically. For less than a second he lost control of the Toddler.

“Lupin!” Jigen managed to grab the steering wheel in time to avoid colliding with the car in front. "Fuckin’ shit, Lupin." he added.

"Fujiko hasn't been answering my phone for a month." Lupin said sadly, putting his hands back on the steering wheel.

“Heh, so she finally wised up.” Lupin gave Jigen an irritated look. “Come on, don't cry.” Jigen patted his friend's shoulder, then turned to Goemon and grinned. “How are we celebrating today? Champagne or whiskey?”

"Of two evil I prefer champagne." Goemon replied.

"Amateur." Jigen commented and Lupin let out a loud moan.

“Why are you so happy with my tragedy?”

"That's what friends are for" Jigen said, raising the brim of his hat a bit to be able to wink at Lupin.

Lupin chose a charming agritourism as a temporary base, located just two kilometers from the road, which in two days a convoy escorting exhibits for the exhibition to Warsaw was to pass. The plan was already prepared, only the last preparations before the robbery remained, so according to the principle "What you can do today, do tomorrow" the gang agreed to spend the evening resting. And since it is known that no rest can be done without a bottle of good whiskey, no one was surprised when, after a minute from entering the room, Jigen already stretched out on the sofa with a glass in his hand. Unfortunately, their kitchenette did not offer adequate glass, which is why the amber drink had to be satisfied with the most ordinary in the world glass with a handle.

"We were supposed to drink champagne." Goemon admonished, taking the armchair.

"Relax, we'll get to champagne too." Jigen answered, offering a glass of alcohol to the samurai. With reluctance written on his face, Goemon took the glass and got drunk a little, making sure again that he still does not like whiskey.

“You two could help!”

Only now did Lupin enter the room, kicking the door behind him because his hands were full of bags.

"You are doing great" Jigen said, pouring a portion for Lupin. To his dissatisfaction, he had to change position to make room on the couch when Lupin sank heavily right next to him, abandoning the luggage at the entrance.

“Of course I am doing great, I am always doing great, I'm all great!”

Jigen couldn't help but snort. Not that he particularly tried to hide it. Lupin looked offended and took a solid sip from his glass.

"Lupin," Goemon began. “Can you tell us more about your plan?”

The man only smiled, drank and put the glass down on the table.

“My plan is brilliant as always, one hundred percent effective, zero percent risk!”

“And did you include Pops Zenigata in your calculations?”

Lupin put his arm around Jigen, and his smile widened.

“And this is the best thing - I didn't have to! Pops is currently too busy in France.”

"I do not understand." Goemon said.

"Exactly," Jigen supported him. "I thought nothing was more important than his love to chase you."

“Of course nothing is! It's hard to be so popular and loved, but one of us has to.” Lupin laughed, and Jigen and Goemon rolled their eyes in agreement. “And Pops is convinced that we are preparing a robbery for the diamond exhibition in Paris. He would never have thought that instead of jewels we would hunt the national heritage of a Slavic country! Yes I know, I'm brilliant and you would have died miserably without me!”

"Well, what would we do without you," Jigen said sarcastically and drank everything he had in his glass so he could pour another portion.

“You would be bored, you would be poorer, both physically and intellectually ... should I mention more?”

"Better not," Goemon replied.

Jigen has already opened his mouth to deliver some unusually intelligent and thoughtful punch line of this whole exchange, but before he could make any sound, there was a knock. The man immediately stood up, pulling a revolver from behind his belt. Goemon also leapt to his feet and after a while he was at the door, his hand on the sword hilt. Only Lupin did not move from his seat, and calmly took a sip from his glass.

“Are you expecting someone?” Jigen asked, hiding Magnum, and praying that it would not be Fujiko.

“They are our hosts. Goemon-chan, be so good and open them.”

There was a soft click as Zanketsuken's hilt met with the scabbard. Goemon opened the door and immediately pulled away as he was overwhelmed with a hail of rustling words. Fortunately, Lupin was next to him and took over the obligation to talk. After a while, the hosts, an elderly lady with gray perm and probably her husband, almost completely bald, in a flat cap and plaid shirt, waved goodbye.

“What was it about?” Goemon asked, not understanding a word from this exchange. Jigen, who knew some Russian, understood the part when Lupin put in Russian words or sentences when he didn't know their Polish counterparts.

“Nothing, they came to say hello, because earlier after taking the key you drove to the room so quickly that they didn't even know who was staying here. And they also brought this!” here with a smile he showed a small bottle, probably with a capacity of 0.3 liters, without any label, but with a pink bow tied around the neck.

“And what is that?” Still not understanding Goemon gave a rather skeptical look at the red contents of the bottle. Lupin put an arm around the samurai and led him to the couch, then went to look for something in the kitchen cabinets. Finally, he returned with three shot glasses in his hand and sat down on the armchair.

“This, my dear, is a tincture. Cherry specifically. You like cherries, right?”

“Yes. But I prefer to admire their flower petals than drink something... like that.”

“Well, now, now. You haven't tried it yet, and you're complaining. Take an example from Jigen!”

Meanwhile, Jigen had already poured into every glass and was just smelling the contents of his. Seeing that he suddenly became the center of attention, he shrugged.

“Well, free alcohol is the best alcohol.”

Goemon sighed and took his glass.

“Well then! For a successful heist!” Lupin raised a toast, followed by a twang of glass.

Lupin rolled over. He didn’t set the alarm clock yesterday and was just making a bet with himself, which could be an hour. He opened his eyes. Goemon, who should occupy the bed opposite, was already absent. In addition, warm and bright light filtered through the curtains, and its window was eastward. He strained to hear and managed to catch a soft whistling and clicking of the plates. So Jigen is also up. It could only mean one thing – it had to be about eleven o'clock.

He glanced at his watch – 10:43

"Heh, 1: 0 for me." he said contentedly and scrambled out of bed. He pulled on only his pants and yawning loudly entered the living room. The couch Jigen occupied was still unfolded, and the bedding on it looked more like somebody stocking there than sleeping. The chair was already occupied by Goemon, so Lupin, having no way out, sat down in this mess.

“Scrambled eggs?” he asked, seeing Jigen stir something in the pan.

“Mhm. Mrs. Wolska brought eggs and vegetables from the garden in the morning”

“What a wonderful woman~!”

Lupin grinned, put his hands behind his head, and lay down. He chose this guest house not only because of the proximity of the place of assault. The owners made a nice impression on the phone, they knew Russian (that is, if he was not nearby, Jigen will be able to get along somehow) and besides they live in the countryside, without a TV or Internet, so there was no fear that they would immediately recognize in the guests famous criminals. And a nice addition to this was the hostess, Mrs. Wolska, who insisted that at the price of the room she would still provide them with products from the farm, since Lupin refused dinners, and these were usually included.

He sold them a story that he was a descendant of Polish immigrants and now he and his friends decided to explore the country of his ancestors. In addition, he began Polish studies, so he would happily take this opportunity to polish the language a little. He made his other college friends out of the other two – Jigen he was supposed to study Russian, and Goemon History with Asian specialization, so to get into character he dressed as a samurai.

Scrambled eggs with chives and tomatoes may not have been Jens's signature dish, especially since it was seasoned with pepper too much, but that didn’t stop Lupin from words of admiration. In the end, the more he convinces Jigen that he is a great cook, the less he will have to cook himself. An ideal plan, although associated with risk of many salty dishes. Fortunately, Goemon remained, but he refused to use his culinary talent for anything other than typical Japanese dishes.

Unfortunately, after each meal came the sad moment when someone had to wash the dishes.

"I cooked," Jigen noted right away. He opened the window and sat on the windowsill to light a cigarette. Lupin and Goemon looked at each other.

"At my sign," Lupin said. Both men stood up and posed as if they were getting ready to fight. “One-two-three!” he shouted. At the same moment, he reached out, his hand clenched into a fist, and Goemon’s...

“The paper covers the stone.” said the samurai smugly and returned to his chair.

“What? No, that's not fair! We play up to three wins!”

"Sorry, Lupin, you’re doing dishes today." Jigen said with a strange joy in his voice and tossed Lupin the apron he was wearing a moment ago. Lupin looked offended, but then he sighed deeply and obediently went to the sink. He must still somehow figure out how to escape this burdensome duty.

Lupin spent half a day with the hosts, sitting with them under the gazebo. Mrs. Wolska put a cake on the table, they also had a compote, and Mr. Wolski pulled a tincture from somewhere and poured them when the wife went to set the water for tea.

Just like he said them by the phone, he used occasion to talk to natives to brush up Polish. He already knew Russian, and once had the opportunity to lick a bit of Czech and Croatian, so he did it quite well. Even before arriving in the country, he learned a lot on his own, and the apartment in Paris, which had recently been his headquarters, from ceiling to floor was covered with flashcards. Now he was writing to his notebook more interesting words or phrases.

The robbery that was supposed to take place tomorrow morning was a trivial and pleasant thing by default. The plan itself was very simple – he, Jigen and Goemon pretend to be a team that was supposed to patch holes along the route of the convoy. Maybe "convoy" is even too much said. The transport of _Szczerbiec_ and other exhibits was to involve only a truck with two guards, one in front and one behind truck. The cars will stop before the blockade, then Goemon will talk to one of the drivers, he will try to explain the detour to him. During this time, Lupin and Jigen will approach the truck. Lupin, using his personal charm, will take the trucker for a few seconds, which is just enough for Goemon to cut the first car. Before guards can manage, Lupin should puncture the rear tires. Meanwhile, Jigen will culturally ask the truck driver to deign leave his cabin and he’ll take his place. Lupin at that time will get into the transported container, find the sword and maybe something else that catches his attention. Some gems would definitely appeal to Fujiko ... Anyway, when Goemon will jumps on or into the truck, they’ll drive a few kilometers, abandon the car and through the forest get to the Toddler parked on the parallel road. Then, together with the treasure and smiles on their faces, they will go towards the rising sun and will live happily ever after.

He should be offended that Lupin from the past came up with such a simple, not at all risky and fun plan, but sometimes these are the best. Especially that he needed money quickly, and if everything goes well, he will meet his contact in Berlin tomorrow night and cash the priceless sword there. He was counting on several hundred thousand euros, but who knows, if the bargain goes well, the price may reach a million. Then not only will he be able to pay a good sum to Jigen and Goemon, but he will also spend some on some nice frippery for Fujiko. Maybe he should buy her a new bike? Or ten? Or treat her some exclusive holidays? Of course, those that they would go together. Somewhere in warm countries so that Fujiko doesn't have to wear too much clothes...

“Do you think about your wife?” asked Mr Wolski suddenly, and Lupin realized that he had completely stopped listening to the man and lost in thought.

“Wife?” he repeated surprised, and then burst out laughing. “No, no, I don't have a wife.”

“Is this about your husband?” said Mrs Wolska.

Lupin's laughter turned into a cough when he choked on his own saliva. Well, well, he did not expect such a question after an older marriage living in a shanty town (and in "catholic" country)! If he knew, he could come up with a different cover to bother Jigen and Goemon a little.

“No, neither a husband. I am alone now, but I hope it will change soon! After all, in this country there are sooooo many beautiful women~!” he pulled an artificial flower from his sleeve and handed it to Mrs Wolska with a sly smile.

"Such a gentleman will not have to search long." answered the woman. “Although after your thoughtful face it can be seen that you have already found someone.”

“Does it show so much?”

Lupin sighed as the older couple nodded in agreement. This is a big mistake on his part, he should be more careful. Being lost in thought like that? But he couldn't help when Fujiko sneak into his mind. Especially since after the last not very successful heist she stopped talking to him. He knew that soon she would break and contact him when she needed help, but still this silence hurt him.

In addition, since the last meeting with her – that is, for about two months – he has not slept with anyone, and this definitely affected his psyche. Well, if Fujiko does not want to accept these ten bikes, holidays and gems, maybe he will stay in Poland for longer to be able to fully enjoy the beauty of this country.

He did not want to continue the topic of his love life, so he decided to ask about something that had previously thought about:

“I have to admit I'm surprised. I have always thought that Poland is more conservative when it comes to male-male love and such.”

“Because it is so, unfortunately.” answered Mrs. Wolska. “We were not always tolerant. However, what can you do if your only grandson brings a black man home instead of the woman his parents chose him?”

Lupin whistled. Indeed, that could be a huge culture shock.

Mrs. Wolska talked about her grandson Michał, and the stream of her words could not be stopped, so after an hour Lupin knew the entire biography of a young man, as well as his boyfriend Jack. Probably, if Mr. Wolski did not remind his wife that they were supposed to go to the store, she would tell the story of the whole family, as well as neighbors’ and neighbors’ neighbors.

Lupin waved goodbye as they left in their red Tico. The nearest store was about five kilometers away, but if Mrs. Wolska met someone she knows there, their trip could be drastically prolonged.

"To work, to work." Lupin choked, folding his arms behind his head and heading for the guest house. They had fourteen hours to rob, so it's time to start the preparations.

Lupin sank to the floor of the truck and finally released a loud laugh that had been trying so hard out of his lungs for several minutes.

They did it. Of course everything went perfectly. No losses, only profit! Here is the perfect, nice and pleasant job to pass the time and repair the funds. Now only the last stage is to be completed – finding the sword and may other valuable things.

He stood up and was immediately thrown against the wall of the container when the driver of the vehicle (Jigen) took a sharp turn. Somehow he managed not get seriously hurt, although his right knee suffered a little. This, however, was nothing compared to the unimaginable – or rather more and more imaginative – wealth that would await him at the end of this heist.

Trying to maintain balance, which was not so simple, considering the speed at which the truck was moving, the number of turns and the condition of the local roads, Lupin did a quick inspection of the assortment. The load consisted of ten carton boxes and two wooden boxes, two meters long and about half high – one of them had to have a sword.

He rubbed his hands and knelt beside one of them. Now between him and the loot was only a poor quality padlock, which, after a second, landed on the floor.

"Then show me what you got inside, kitty." Lupin said, opening the lid. In his imagination he could see the golden handle and long blade turning into pile of banknotes. It is a pity that in reality instead of this mountain of euros he saw a familiar, widely smiling face.

“LUPIN, YOU ARE UNDER ARREST!” Zenigata exclaimed, jumping out of the chest while slamming the handcuffs on his right wrist.

“P-Pops!?” shocked Lupin fell on his ass, but immediately got to his feet. “What are you doing here!? You were supposed to catch me in Paris!” he shouted accusingly, to which Zenigata laughed.

“When this diamond exhibition was announced and you didn't send the robbery information, I knew you were planning some other job! Then all I had to do was search and ask and here I am. I outsmarted your outsmarting!” he called cheerfully. Lupin had to admit that Zenigata had just scored about ten points in their competition. It didn't mean anything when Lupin's advantage was about a thousand, but it was still something. Finally he sighed and spread his hands.

“It looks like I underestimated you again.”

“And it was your last mistake for a long time! Relax, my people have already blocked all access roads and you’re going to be delivered to a comfortable cell! Don't be afraid, I'll visit you from time to time!”

"I am not afraid of it at all." Lupin replied. He pressed the button on the cuff that should send an alarm signal to Jigen. “Especially that I don't plan to stay in any cell!”

Lupin shouted the last words on the run. The truck braked sharply, but he was already outside, jumping out of it while it was still on the move. Behind him he heard Zenigata's angry scream as he realized that instead of Lupin's wrist his handcuffs were wrapped around an artificial hand. The thief turned yet to wave happily and shout:

“See ya later, Pops!”

“LUPIN!!!”

An echo of such a familiar voice chased him for a while. Lupin couldn't help smiling. Although the whole elaborate plan went to hell, he was happy that Zenigata had anticipated his moves and appeared so unexpectedly.

He couldn't stop, so he just ran ahead, trying not to stumble or fall into any tree. Fortunately, the road they were riding was surrounded by forest on all sides, so he could easily hide. Of course, he had to get far enough first, which was not such a simple task at all, considering Zenigata's condition and determination.

He pressed a button on his watch, and the dial turned into a radar with three marked points. He breathed a sigh of relief when he confirmed that Jigen and Goemon were also on the run, each in a different direction. He could already hear in his head how Jigen made fun of him, repeating his own words about how they didn't have to worry about Popos and how simple and pleasant this job supposed to be. Let him laugh! One small failure does not yet indicate anything, and when Lupin the Third decides to steal something he always brings the matter to an end, so it was only a matter of time when he put his hands on the golden hilt of the sword.

When Lipin reached the Toddler, the other two were already there. Goemon sat cross-legged on the car roof, holding his sword to his chest. He didn't even deign to open his eyes and it was hard to guess whether he was upset or just tired from running. Lupin fell heavily on the grass and pulled a packet of cigarettes out of the inside pocket of his jacket, with Jigen's loud laughter in the background.

"I can’t believe Zenigata has seen through your sly plan so easily!"

"He was lucky," Lupin muttered in response, lighting a cigarette.

“Luck, my ass! After so many years of chasing after you, he must have finally mastered the art of reading your mind! See, that's the power of love,” he said bitterly, for which Lupin only moaned.

"Lupin," Goemon finally said.”What now? Are we going to surrender?”

“Of course not! Pops said something about the police blocking all roads, but it had to be a bluff. Maybe he has a colleague with him, but I doubt that anyone but him would believe that I would give up this diamond exhibition in Paris.”

“So what? Was that running away from Zenigata completely pointless?”

"We didn't run, we just made a tactical retreat to regroup and come up with a better plan!" Lupin gave Goemon an annoyed look. He stood up and dusted his pants. “Regrouping is, the plan is, we can move on!”

He sat behind the wheel of the Toddler, and Jigen and Goemon, exchanging glances, also got into the little toy car.

“Maybe you can enlighten us?”

“Wait, Jigen dear. Give me... just... a moment...”

The car finally decided to cooperate and started, making disturbing noises resembling cough more than the sound of an engine.

"You really should think of an electric car, Lupin," said Goemon from the back seat.

"Or at least something that actually works," Jigen said.

“But this babe works perfectly! Yes, iit may be a bit loud and not so ecological, but it is a walking, or rather driving, history!

“Whatever, as long as it won’t be the reason we will go down in history.”

Lupin snorted Jigen's comment. The only thing this guy knew about was gun and alcohol, there was no reason to expect that he would understand this gentle bond of a man with his car. The sound of the engine, how it reacts to the movement of the wheel, how something rustles on every bump... Okay, the last one may have been more disturbing than delightful, but it still did not change the fact that Fiat 126p was, is, and will probably always be the automotive symbol of Poland, and if he wanted to understand this country he had no choice, he just had to drive it.

“So where are we going?” Goemon asked, changing the subject.

“For our treasure, of course. I left the transmitter in the truck. All we have to do now is find it and take it back.”

"Don't you think that before we catch up, Zenigata will call for reinforcements?"

“Even if so what?” Lupin shrugged. “I did not know, Jigen, that you are afraid of several squadrons of local policemen.”

“I'm not afraid! Prudence, have you ever heard that word?”

“No, I hear first.”

Jigen put his hat on his face more.

“Why am I hanging out with you at all?”

“Because you love me?”

Goemon cleared his throat loudly and Jigen immediately shouted:

“Are you kidding!? We're just colleagues!

"I don't understand why are you always so upset about it," Lupin said quietly.

“Because you're talking nonsense!”

At that moment, the Toddler rushing from the paved forest road fell onto the asphalt road, ideally in front of the truck driving at the prescribed speed. All three Fiat passengers looked back, meeting Zenigata's surprised eyes.

“LU-LUPIN!!!”

“Hi, Pops, did you miss me?”

Zenigata was halfway through the truck window, somehow controlling the vehicle while brandishing a pair of handcuffs.

“LUPIN! STOP!”

"As you wish," Lupin pressed the brake and put reverse. He smiled broadly as he passed the truck and waved to Zenigata, which made the inspector even more angry. “Goemon-chan, could you help this truck to say goodbye to its load?”

The only answer was the whistle and the sound of the rear window breaking. Samurai through the resulting hole climbed onto the roof of the toy car, and jumped from it to the truck to separate the cabin from the container with one cut.

"Once again I have cut a worthless object," he said when Zantetsuken returned safely to his scabbard. During this time, Lupin, not slowing down, twisted the Toddler so that with a squeal of tires it stopped with its back to the container.

“Take over!” he shouted to Jigen, getting out of the car. He opened container’s door and shouted to Gomeon to help him. The samurai appeared next to him and together they raised the second still closed chest and threw it through the broken window into the Toddler. As expected, most of it were happily sticking out.

“LUPIN! STOP!” Zenigata's voice was disturbingly close. Apparently, he abandoned his vehicle and, as usual, decided to hunt the thief on his own legs.

“Quick, Jigen!”

Before Lupin managed to close the passenger side door, the Toddler started coughing and suffocating, but still bravely developing his maximum speed. Goemon sat on the roof, keeping an eye on the chest and Zenigata, if it occurred to him to start shooting or throwing handcuffs. Indeed, few had flown towards the receding vehicle and the whole series of throws ended with one worn brown shoe. That’s the one thing Goemon decided not to cut, because the poor inspector would probably lose half of his only pair of shoes.

For a moment they were chased by screams in Japanese and the name of Lupin. In the end, the Toddler rolled into something that was a road only by its name and disappeared among the trees. This path was so narrow and overgrown that Goemon had to cut branches so as not to get hit in the face, and when the car finally stopped, the leaves not only stopped in his hair, but also somehow got behind the clothes. Irritated, he jumped to the ground and before anyone could laugh at him, he got rid of most of the attacking flora.

“And what now?” Jigen asked, climbing out of the Toddler. Together with Lupin, they took out the chest and set it on the ground. The gunslinger lit a cigarette, and the thief crouched down and began to wrestle with the lock, which turned out to be more complicated than the one protecting access to the Zenigata's chest.

“Pops probably already called for reinforcements, so we have to get out as soon as possible.”

"That means we are not going back to the guest house anymore?"

"There is no time," Lupin replied. A quiet, disappointed "Oh" escaped Goemon's mouth. Lupin raised an eyebrow questioningly, and the samurai cleared his throat and looked away to the side.

“I was hoping that we would still have the opportunity to try this cherry tincture.”

Lupin and Jigen grinned.

"Relax, Goemon-chan, I will get a bottle especially for you," Lupin said and chuckled when the heavy padlock finally fell on the grass. Jigen and Goemon leaned forward as the thief eagerly threw the lid back and a long, shiny blade topped with an intricately decorated, golden hilt appeared. Lupin whistled in delight and took the sword so that he could take a closer look. Goemon, finding that _Szczerbiec_ was no match for his Zantetsuken, leaned on the Toddler and closed his eyes.

"Not bad, not bad..." Lupin muttered, smiling to himself. Something in his tone or maybe attitude worried Jigen.

“Don't tell me it's a fake.”

“What?” Lupin asked, suddenly ripped out from his thoughts. “No, no, it's the original, I'm sure.”

“So what’s wrong?”

Lupin took off his jacket, wrapped the sword with it and put it through the broken window in the back seat, which the rest read as a signal to move on. Jigen threw the cigarette butt into the now empty chest, which after a while caught fire.

When everyone took their seats in the car, Lupin lit a cigarette, grinned and answered Jigen's earlier question:

“Nothing, I just remembered that Mrs. Wolska shared the recipe for the cherry tincture with me.”


	2. The Amber Adventure I

After selling the sword, they spent time in Berlin, joyfully spending their money and hiding from the police. Media around the world have already overcome the topic of Szczerbiec and lost interest in the case. Only in Poland there was still discussion, some blamed others, as if this crime could be anyone others than Lupine the Third’s fault. The government even set a reward for capturing the thief or even surrendering the sword, but it was so miserable that it went unnoticed.

Of course, Lupine did not rest on his laurels and after two weeks of sweet sluggishness he sat down to plan the next heist. He was absorbing the liters of coffee offered by Jigen, and only waved his hand when the gunslinger suggested going out to the bar every evening. In the end, Jigen was alone, visiting known places or discovering completely new ones. Goemon accompanied him several times, but a samurai outraged by such decadent life one morning announced that he was going to train in the Alps. Jigen only reminded him to take his phone with him, and most importantly, to not forget forget to charge it and turn on the sound.

“Ha-ha!”

A sudden cry of joy woke up Jigen out of his nap. The new issue of Playbohz fell to the floor as the man jumped up abruptly, and opened on a photo report from some bodybuilding competition. Jigen picked up the newspaper, but before he closed it and put it on the table, he glanced quickly at the pictures.

Lupine turned one of the rooms in the apartment into his studio. Veiled curtains it from light even during sunny day. There were pages everywhere, planes or balls of paper and tools needed to prepare costumes. There was some latex there, some stray wig or fake beard elsewhere. Lupine sat at a desk covered with dirty mugs and cups, leaning back dangerously in his chair, covering his face with his hand and laughing madly.

Jigen, completely ignoring his friend's insanity, stood beside him and leaned down to see the laptop screen better. He read the information on the screen twice, but still found no reason to laugh It was just a short article about the amber fair taking place in Gdansk.

“Well? Will I get some clarification or should I call an ambulance?”

“You'd better summon Goemon, because we're coming back to Poland next week!” Lupine said still giggling.

“Mhm. And what's so funny about that?”

Lupine took a deep breath to calm down. Jigen pushed back one of the cups so he could lean on the desk.

“A few years ago amber weighing about 100 grams was found on the Baltic Sea. Such a piece in purchase costs 3.5 thousand euros, but this one additionally had a beautiful honey color, no cracks, and most importantly – three bees were sunk inside. I remember that already at the auction it was sold for almost 50 thousand euros.”

“Pretty good for old resin with insects.”

“Yes, yes. And now think what will happen if such a stone gets into the hands of a jewelry master on the special order of a princess.”

Jigen smiled.

“The price will rise high enough to be interesting.”

“Bingo!” Lupine smiled back. “Amber was cut and attached in a silver, hexagonal brooch, studded with brilliants, and the whole thing was to look like a honeycomb cell.”

“Wait a minute. Are you talking about Queen Bee?”

Lupine raised his eyebrows, but the smile never left his face.

“Ara? Have you heard of this gem?”

“Mhm. Apparently the most beautiful and expensive amber brooch ever created.”

"I don’t know if it’s the most beautiful," Lupine shrugged. “but I know the fact that it has not even been officially presented yet, and its value is already estimated at several hundred thousand euros.”

“But you said earlier that it was made for some crowned head, so why do you think it’ll be in Poland?”

“See, this is the funniest thing!” Lupine chuckled again. “I have heard about the amber expo in Gdańsk before, but I reviewed the competition and exhibitors' works submitted this year and there was no indication that our little bee would return to the Baltic Sea. I also reached the princess, but she has not yet got her trinket. The jeweler is elusive, everyone makes a secret out of it, and to be honest I was about to let it go when I entered the trade fair website again and there it was!” He started laughing again and pointed to the logo of this year's edition of the event. Jigen turned the laptop a little toward him and couldn't stop snorting when he noticed the hexagonal shape with amber inscribed in it.

“So the brooch will be presented in Gdansk. Gee, somebody makes a big deal out of it.”

“Right? First, they dissolve information about how wonderful this product will be, and then they don't want to officially present it anywhere.”

“Maybe they want to increase the value of the brooch so much? But what for if it was made especially for the princess?”

“Exactly. Something here stinks.”

"I'd bet it’s the mountain of dirty dishes on your desk."

“Ha-ha, very funny.”

Jigen, pleased with himself, pulled the phone out of his pocket and headed for the door, stumbling over a part of the (probably) printer lying on the floor.

“Then I gonna call Goemon to come back, because without him we'll sink in your muck.”

“Just don't forget to mention your bottle collection, waiting for two weeks at the door to be thrown!” Lupine shouted after Jigen. The man only replied with a smile, disappeared in the living room and lied down on the couch with the phone to his ear.

Lupine leaned back in his chair as much as he could, then quickly returned to normal position and humming under his breath, returned to preparing the heist.

  
  


Zenigata spent another day traveling between his hotel, police station and nearby confectionery, where the promotion "Pączek plus coffee for 5 zloty" was ongoing. With a mug in one hand and a napkin left after the pączek (he was quickly taught by his new Polish colleagues that “pączki” aren’t donuts and it won’t be forgiven to call them that) in the other, he sat in front of his temporary desk. The local policemen gave him one of the unused rooms, admittedly measuring two by two meters, but at least he did not have to spend time among the crowd of strangers murmuring something in their language.

He started the laptop and turned on the stream of Japanese television. He looked at the news for a moment, checked the email (nothing new but spam, even Yata didn’t write anything) and sank into a more comfortable armchair.

“Lupine, where are you?” he asked, looking blankly at the disposable coffee cup.

When he arrived in Poland, he opposed the orders of the boss, who sent all available forces to defend the exhibition in Paris. Normally Zenigata would be sure that Lupine would reach out for diamonds, but when no message came from him, the inspector became more and more suspicious. It's not like Lupine always sent warnings, but this time he would not miss the opportunity to make a spectacle out of such a large exhibition and, at the same time, ridicule Interpol and Zenigata once again. Therefore, although everyone around was sure that the thief would hit Paris, the inspector was still looking, what else could distract Lupine, until he finally got information from UNESCO about the transport of antiques from Krakow to Warsaw, of which several exhibits were moved for the first time for decades.

He immediately bought a flight ticket to Warsaw, grabbed his suitcase and after a few hours stood in front of the chief commander, trying to explain to him the seriousness of the situation. As might be expected, he was laughed at and thrown out on his ass. Such a thing, however, could not stop Koichi Zenigata, when he was sure that he had caught the trail of Lupine. Swearing all over the world and digging out the last of his wallet, he bought a ticket to Krakow. There, not quite legally, but he managed to find himself in a truck transporting exhibits.

Nothing, nothing at all, can reflect the joy and satisfaction he felt when the lid of the chest in which he was hiding rose, presenting Lupin's shocked face in all its glory. Ha! He was right! Of course he was right! No one in the world knows Lupine as well as he does, no one else would be able to predict the moves of this thief monkey! And that eventually the sword fell into the hands of a thief, Zenigata wandered in the woods for an hour, because the truck he was driving then stopped on the tree and his phone fell down, that's quite another story.

Zenigata sighed heavily. He was bored. After a successful heist, Lupine and his gang sat quietly and perhaps planned another robbery and he was temporarily grounded in Poland.

Although it turned out that he was ultimately right and even got a written apology from the chief police officer, his ICPO boss was still offended. As if it was Zenigata's fault that Lupine decided to ignore this exhibition! Therefore, as part of some revenge, the boss announced that Zenigata had already used all the funds he was entitled to travel for this year (and it was only March!) And if he wants to return to Paris, he must pay for himself. Meanwhile, the problem was that the inspector's wallet was empty and the account had less than 20 euros. Although one good thing, that courtesy of the local police had a place to sleep and he could use the police canteen, otherwise he would have to start begging. Or maybe he should just find some extra work? It is true that when he did not chase Lupine, he sometimes dealt with other cases, but sometimes it was like now, when for a week or more he did nothing, waiting for any move from his rival’s side.

Because he didn’t have better ideas, he began to browse job offers. He didn’t know the language(although this bit of Russian sometimes helped in communicating with Poles, but still he was talking mostly in English) and in addition it had to be something that he could give up at any moment if he suddenly found the trail of Lupine.

This is how Inspector Koichi Zenigata sent his CV to a security company employed by, among others, Amber Expo in Gdańsk.

There was two knocks, one break, one, break and two again.

“Goemon! Finally!” Jigen opened the door, letting the samurai enter the apartment. “Why so long? You were supposed to be yesterday.”

“Sorry, my flight was delayed due to the weather.”

“Flight? So you didn't go to the Alps?” said Lupine from the kitchen. Earlier he lost in paper-rock-scissors and was forced to cook dinner.

“I was in the Alps, yes. Japanese Alps.”

There was a moment's silence.

“Did you fly to Japan?” Jigen asked, and Goemon nodded.

"I brought you presents," he said, taking a bottle of Japanese whiskey and a mochi pack from his bundle.

Jigen just shook his head and accepted the gifts, and Lupine giggled in the kitchen and tried not to burn himself, draining the potatoes.

To Lupine's delight, Goemon himself offered to wash the dishes after dinner. However, the samurai was not ready for what remained in the kitchen and, to be honest, nobody could be. A pile of dirty dishes poured out of the sink and conquered the countertop and a piece of floor. Someone might ask the question how miraculously so many cups and cutlery were on this apartment's equipment. The answer was astonishingly simple – instead of cleaning like a normal person, Lupine had dirty dishes in his study for weeks, and when he went out shopping, he bought more. This is how the vicious circle went around, completely bypassing Jigen, who had already announced years ago that he would not clean the Lupin’s crap.

Goemon's eyebrow twitched as if it was living her own life, and his lips tightened into a thin line. Lupine and Jigen stuck their heads out behind the door frame and waited for their friend's reaction. Goemon, after a few seconds of intense silence, tied up his sleeves, put on a slung apron, dug rubber gloves from one of the cupboards and armed with a liter dishwashing liquid and a brush, began to wash. Only then did Lupine breathe a sigh of relief.

About an hour later, when Lupine emerged from his cave, he found Goemon meditating on the couch, his sword pressed to his chest. The thief walked around the samurai and stood against the wall as far as possible. It was only then that he cleared his throat significantly to attract attention. Jigen raised the brim of his hat slightly, but he made no move and continued to stare at the television. Lupine had to clear his throat three more times before both friends finally deigned to look at him.

"You must be wondering why I gathered you here," he began in a theatrical voice. Jigen rolled his eyes and turned off the television. A longer speech was being prepared. “First of all: Forgive me, Ishikawa-sama!” he exclaimed, bowing low to Goemon.

 _“Ishikawa-sama!?”_ repeated Jigen, surprised, and began to laugh. Goemon closed his eyes and said:

“I will forgive you this time, Lupine. But if something like that happens again...” he didn't have to finish his sentence, all that was needed was the flash of Zantetsuken's blade for Lupine to bow vigorously.

“Yes, Goemon _-dono_! Your grace and wisdom know no bounds!”

Goemon nodded.

“Okay, you apologized, now say, why did you gather us here?” Jigen asked. Lupine, already more relaxed, sank heavily onto the couch next to the gunman, and just as he rested his feet on the table.

“To announce that I have finished developing the plan! We start tomorrow morning as soon as I finish preparing our costumes. Goemon!” he pointed at the samurai. “You will be Hakurou Kotarou, a Japanese investor, send by his boss and looking for some nice tinsel for his new bride.”

"I'm begging you, don't say one of us is playing this bride," moaned Jigen.

“Not this time, sadly. I sent your CV some time ago to a security company, Mr. Terry Jones” Lupine winked at his friend. “I will play a waiter. I will take the place of the poor” he had to look at the scribbled name on the inside of his hand. “Maciej Gajda. The boy does not know yet, but he just won a few days in luxurious basement with a view... to be honest without a view, because we will turn off his light, but you understand what I mean! So what, does anyone have any comments?”

“Yes. Hakurou Kotarou is a stupid name,” Goemon said.

“What? Not at all! Hakurou is written with signs for "amber" and "son", it's the perfect name for this robbery!”

“Exactly. It's too obvious.”

“Too obvious would be _Dorobou_! Hakurou is perfect and stays! Anyone else have something to say!?”

Goemon made a dissatisfied grunt, and Jigen shrugged. Satisfied with the lack of response, Lupine rose vigorously from the couch.

“So I announce the end of the meeting and now to sleep, because tomorrow we will have a lot of work!”

"It's only 7pm," Goemon remarked.

“And good children at this time should be in bed!”

"Fortunately, we're not good," Jigen said, and stood up heavily. “Hey, Goemon, don't you want to try the whiskey you brought?”

“No, thank you, but I will gladly keep you company.”

“Really? Are you going to drink alcohol tonight?”

"What can I say, the blood ethanol concentration must match," Jigen shrugged. Lupine thought for a moment, then finally sank back onto the sofa with the words:

“You know what, you convinced me.”

  
  


Lupine made sure once again that the earpiece was lying well and covered the ear with a hair strand. He tied the rest of the red curls on his neck, adjusted his glasses, made sure Walther was safely in his holster, hidden under his clothes, and slammed the cabinet shut. The waiters around him were also already changing. Most chatted and joked with friends, only he stood alone among the crowd of young men, most often students, employed for a one-time job during a banquet at the Amberif amber fair. Only he, Maciek Gajda, a twenty-two-year-old law student, trying to make some extra money to be able to live with the girl from the new semester, got into the party alone, without any friend. Well, the original Maciek has probably already woken up and who knows, maybe he didn't shit himself, but found a message saying more or less: "Sit on your ass and wait, in two days the door will open". Lupine cared for his hostages, so he left in the fridge what students supposedly like the most – vodka and cheap food. If he does not turn out to be an aberration in the form of student abstinence, he should spend a good two days in the basement. There were even two old Playboy issues waiting in the toilet...

His thoughts were interrupted by the main coordinator, who had just entered the cloakroom and started a monologue about the importance of this event and how they should represent the country with foreign guests. Then he clapped his hands and drove them all to the kitchen. OSH training and task distribution took place the previous day, so everyone knew what to do. Also Lupine, already then in the role of Maciek, participated in them, while getting a chance to become better acquainted with the object.

Together with other waiters, he was bringing more snack plates to the long table set against the wall of the main hall. On the right was a small podium for the orchestra tuning their instruments, on the left were smaller, numbered tables for six people, and the center of the room remained empty to serve as a dance floor.

While here was the banquet ending the first day of the fair, a small meeting somewhere on the expo would be held by insiders, at which the name Queen Bee supposed to be presented. The problem was that it was not known at what time and exactly where it was to take place. That is why Goemon, as Mr. Hakurou, thanks to Lupine's abilities, was seated at one table with Gerd Krause, a German businessman involved in the process of creating an unusual brooch. Now the only thing to do was watch Krause and follow him as he and other people slip out of the party. They'll find out where Qeen Bee is, and then stealing it will be just a child's play.

The guests slowly began to arrive, and the waiters were hustled to finish setting the main table as soon as possible. When everything was ready, they were corralled into the kitchen so that they would not hang around during the official start of the banquet. Lupine squeezed into a corner and switched on the earphone Since yesterday he had not contacted either Goemon or Jigen. Everyone was busy preparing for their role, and Lupin's only concern was whether Goemon would manage to tie his tie. He trusted his friends and unless Jigen bumped into anyone from his past and Goemon accepted the obligation to put on a suit, everything should go smoothly. That's why it chilled him when he turned on the device and heard two voices saying simultaneously:

“Lupine, we have a problem.”

“What?”

"It starts with ‘Fu’ and ends with ‘jiko’," said Goemon.

"And mine with ‘Zeni’ and ends with ‘gata’," said Jigen.

Lupine groaned softly. That suddenly, after months of no contact, they came across Fujiko was the greatest and worst news. Besides, her presence could somehow be expected here, after all, where expensive jewelry there, the chances of Fujiko appearing always increase. But Pops? Why did he suddenly come to Gdansk? Was he able to get into Lupine's head once again and predict his plans?

The thief smiled to himself. This evening promised to be more and more interesting!

  
  


It wasn't the first time Goemon had to participate in heist in disguise. Working with Lupine, wanting or not wanting, man had to get used to latex masks, wigs, artificial hair or uncomfortable clothes. It did not alleviate the reluctance Goemon felt when looking at the suit chosen by Lupine. He would feel much more comfortable in traditional clothes, but he was supposed to play a modern businessman. It was good though that he had a cane in which he could hide his Zantetsuken. In addition, he still had to put on glasses and tie his hair, so when he stood in front of the mirror trying to win an unequal fight with his tie, he hardly knew his reflection, even though he had no mask.

He had to admit he looked good. Lupine knew what he was doing, choosing a light gray, three-piece suit and a light pink tie. Of course, Jigen would have whined that a hat would perfectly complement his disguise.

Goemon smiled to himself but then seriousness returned to his face. He looked good, but he felt bad. He would prefer it to be after the robbery, so he could change into a hakama and sit down among his friends celebrating a job well done.

For now, he checked whether the earpiece is lying well in the ear and whether the small camera placed in the glasses certainly works. Once again he made sure that Zantetsuken could be easily removed from the cane, adjusted his tie and was ready to leave.

He got to the expo in half an hour, there he picked up his ID, went around the exhibitions, took part in one lecture and was bored to death. He was surrounded by a lot of strangers, mostly rustling in Polish, although conversations in English or German could also be heard. Only once he came across the Chinese, although Lupine warned him that amber is popular in China and there should be a lot of Asian buyers.

When someone tried to make a long conversation, he pretended that he could not speak English so well and each time repeated the learned formula – he gave a false name, said that he was sent by the boss as a representative of the company and that yes, he liked Gdansk so far.

Finally the evening came and the crowds thinned out. Only those whose identifiers were decorated with gold VIP letters remained. They were directed to one of the smaller halls, specially decorated and prepared for the banquet. He looked around, looking for Lupine, but there were no waiters in the room yet, so he headed straight for his table. Two of the six seats were already taken and on one of them sat Gerd Krause, the goal of today's mission. A man in his fifties might not look his age if it wasn't for his thinning gray hair. With a smile stuck to his mouth, he entertained his companion, the red-haired beauty.

Goemon's heart froze at the sight of her, and not because of his shyness towards women and her over-exposed cleavage. He would recognize this woman everywhere, no matter what color she dyed her hair or what clothes she was wearing. One smile was enough for him to know that she, too, had looked through his disguise.

"Good evening," he said, shifting his gaze to Krause. The German stood up to give a hand and introduce himself. Fujiko also rose gracefully and bowed.

\- Fujimine Yukiko. Nice to meet someone from a country so far from home, sir...?

\- Hakurou. Hakurou Kotarou.

Fujiko raised one eyebrow and glanced at Goemon's ID, where his name was in both Latin and kanji. She smiled ironically at the "amber" character. He gave her a tired look and uttered the name Lupine silently. Fujiko chuckled and that was the end of their conversation. The last guests were coming in and after a few minutes the voice of one of the organizers was heard. Everyone turned their eyes to the stage, and Goemon heard a soft signal in his ear. It was Lupine who turned on his handset, thus giving a signal to start the action. Taking advantage of the storm of applause, Goemon said quietly:

\- Lupine, we have a problem.

  
  


Jigen was pleased with his role. He had to play bodyguard – that was great. In addition, he was a foreigner, so hardly anyone should accost him and he wouldn’t have to practically talk to anyone, and the evening before the action he would be able to spend alone in a hotel room, with whiskey and marathon of westerns.

Overall, the work itself seemed nice and pleasant. It was a pity that recently Lupine also swore that it would be fast and simple, and it turned out as usual.

Jigen sighed and pushed his visor hat more over his eyes. He could not put on his trademark, in addition, he still felt itch under the mask, and his head started to ache because of a wig. However, he had to last two hours today at the organizational meeting. Earlier he went to the office to sign the contract and pick up his uniform. At the expo, they were supposed to meet with another security company from Warsaw, which was additionally rented on the first day of Amberif. Such a tightening of protection could only mean one thing – Lupine's information was true and Queen Bee would honor the fair with its presence.

He followed the boss, whose name he could not remember, into the conference room, where about two hundred men were waiting. Most wore the same uniforms as Jigen, only a handful of them stood out with bright orange vests.

The boss stood on the podium and turned on the presentation, and Jigen sat down next to one of men in vest and almost suffocated with his own saliva when he saw a familiar face.

“Ummm... Are you all right?” Zenigata asked in English, looking worriedly at the suffocating Jigen. The gunman finally finished coughing and waved a hand.

“Yes, yes, I'm fine. Terry Jones,” he introduced himself, shaking hands. Everything in him wanted to scream at Lupin and punch him in that monkey face.

“Koichi Zenigata.”

“Inspector Zenigata? The one from Lupine?”

“Huh, I'm that well known?” a bit embarrassed Zenigata began to laugh out loud, which of course drew the irritated boss attention. He immediately fell silent and his ears turned red.

"Of course." Jigen-Jones smiled and lowered his voice. "Does that mean you are here because of Lupine? Is he going to appear here?”

“No and no. At least as far as I know. Maybe he could be interested in some of these ambers, but hmmm....” he thought deeply for a moment, and when he opened his eyes again, he glowed with determination. “Well, if he appears I will definitely catch him, don’t worry!”

"If you're not here for Lupine, then why?" Jigen asked. He kept one hand in his pocket, clutching his cell phone. Admittedly, Lupine ordered radio silence, but Pops’ presence changed everything – again. But since he wasn't here chasing the monkey thief around the world...

"It's kind of embarrassing, but I don't have any money."

“Hm? They pay so little at ICPO?”

Zenigata shook his head.

“They pay well, Lupine is expensive. Travel, destruction, equipment... Our department loses too much money and has too little results. Now, for example, I came to Poland from my own pocket and I have no money to come back,” he laughed nervously and Jigen felt sorry for the poor inspector. But only for a moment, because it was enough for Zenigata to get at least a pinch of suspicion, that instead of an evening with western Jigen would spend the evening in the cell.

“So you will earn and return to Paris?”

Zenigata shrugged.

“To Paris or anywhere Lupine decides to hit.”

“I admire your devotion. Hardly anyone has anything in life that one can chase at the end of the world.”

Pink blushes rose on the inspector's cheeks, but before he could say anything, the boss had his attention focused on him, because he was about to present an exact plan of the halls that everyone should read. Jigen gestured to let Zenigata say nothing but focus on the presentation. Still ruddy, the inspector nodded and pulled out his notebook.

Jigen relaxed a little and turned his gaze over this projector. Although he already knew the expo plans, Terry Jones saw them for the first time in his life. The boss translated most things in English, sometimes answering the questions asked in Polish, and Jigen's thoughts freely wandered around how much Zenigata's presence could affect the heist plan.

After the meeting, everyone went to the tour to see for themselves what the rooms intended for the fair look like. As the only foreigners, Zenigata and Jigen naturally walked side by side, but the conversation wasn't very sticky. Jigen spoke sparingly about questions about his cover, trying not to reveal too much, not to get tangled up in lies and then to fall into some stupidity.

“So why is the American working as a bodyguard in Poland?” Zenigata asked.

"Life," Jigen said, shrugging. "I've worked all my life as a bodyguard, and now life has dumped me here."

“Do you travel a lot?”

“Mhm. Although probably not as much as you, inspector.”

"Such work," Zenigata replied and let out a loud laugh. Jigen didn't quite know what was so funny about it, but the corners of his mouth involuntarily rose. Although he had known this man for so many years, he never really got to know him, he never talked to him for more than five minutes. He didn't really know anything about this man, except that his life goal was to catch Lupine and that he was the only person in the world who actually succeeded more than once. And what did he think about Jigen? Surely he knew his file, and with them the very limited kill list. Did he consider him a soulless murderer or maybe an idiot, because no one else would have lasted so many years with Lupine.

“Hm? What? I have something on my face?”

"No, no," Jigen looked away, realizing that he was staring at Zenigata's face all the time. “I was thinking.”

"It happens to be the best," Zenigata replied, patting Jigen on the shoulder and laughing as if he were telling a great joke.

  
  


The party was calm, but Zenigata felt something was wrong all the time. His associates were bored, and the biggest challenge so far has been to explain to a drunken Russian that he cannot bring his own vodka to the espo. Still, Zenigata couldn't stop and walked here and there. He was disturbed by this calmness, like calm before the storm, but above all he was disturbed by this Terry Jones.

Actually, Zenigata didn't know what was wrong with this man. He looked quite average, wasn't ugly or handsome, could be both twenty and forty, his hair short and brown, no beard and glasses. His only characteristic feature was that even indoors he did not part with his hat. He often sneaked out for a cigarette, but apart from that he didn't stand out. And maybe that was just so suspicious.

Two hours ago, he saw Jones going outside to smoke and talking something to himself. A strange guy, but actually quite nice. Maybe if they had time to get to know each other longer, they would even make friends. Or he would eventually turn out to be a runaway criminal and Zenigata would have to stop him...

He sighed deeply. Such a habit that everyone he met, he immediately suspected of being Lupine or at least a common criminal. Anyways, he could check that Jones's face wasn't a mask, that could help him calm dow. Not once he was looking like an idiot while pulling strangers by the cheeks, but sometimes he also found Lupine himself or someone from his gang.

He just entered the hall where the banquet was taking place. He stood at the door and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest. There were a lot of guests, some sat at their tables, some stood at the snack table, but no one was dancing yet. He scanned the guests, but did not see anything suspicious. An elegant, leaning on a cane man was coming out of the door on the other side. Something about him seemed familiar to Zenigata.

He stood like there for a moment, but irritating drilling in his stomach forced him to move. That's why he decided to sneak outside for a cigarette. Maybe he will meet Jones again and then he will be able to check if he is hiding some other familiar face under the mask.

Suddenly, his own stupidity hit Zenigata like a ram. He stood in the corridor bent in half, as if he were really hit, then straightened vigorously, yelling with all his might:

“JIGEN DAISUKE!”

Yeah! How could he not have come up with this sooner! Of course, the mask did its job, and especially no hat, but still...! He should know his voice right away! And that heavy smoking!

He started running towards the security office to immediately notify the boss and get everyone on their feet. He even pulled out his phone to call the police, but after typing 112 he stopped with his thumb hung over the call icon.

Because what if he was wrong? Maybe a random American actually got hired as a bodyguard during the Amber Fair and maybe quite accidentally smokes Jigen's favorite cigarettes wholesale. If he reports with such thick threads of suspicion, no one will believe him, and even if he manages to convince someone and it turns out that Terry Jones is just a Terry Jones, he will not only make a mockery of himself, but may forget to beg the bossfor larger funds.

He deleted 112 and locked the screen. He must do it himself. First – find Jones.

  
  


Jigen sneezed. Who could talk about him at that moment?

They just received a signal from Goemon that he was following Fujiko and Kraus. He started navigation on the watch and followed the samurai. He was repeating the expo map in his head and after a while he knew where they were going, and therefore where the Queen Bee presentation was to take place.

The building where the training took place yesterday, apart from the conference rooms, still housed in the basement a small room, rented by some dance school. In addition, there was a security office on the ground floor, where there was a monitoring center, a boss and probably twenty people, operating equipment or taking a break.

He looked at his watch. More than two hours have passed since the start of the banquet and also from the first contact with Lupine and Goemon. Fujiko’s appearance was commented short by Jigen: "disappointed but not surprised", while Lupine almost burned his cover, saying aloud about love and the red thread of destiny. About Zenigata the thief said only:

“Ah, good old Popos! Relax, he won't interrupt us.”

“Mhm. You've also said that lately, and you panicked at the sight of him.”

“I didn't panic at all! I already told you that it was a tactical retreat! In any case, the plan remains unchanged. Next contact when Krause moves. Over and out.”

"Roger," Jigen and Goemon confirmed.

“Yo, Lupine, I know where the meeting is taking place. Security building," Jigen said, and he heard a muffled giggle in the phone.

“Well, the darkest under the lighthouse. Goemon, Jigen, go there, I will reach you soon, I just have to take a drink to this one lovely girl...”

“Lupine!” Jigen shouted a little louder than he intended. To think about a woman at such a moment...!

“What? Okay, okay, I'll be right there.”

Jigen heard Goemon sigh. He looked at his watch. According to the signal, the samurai was already nearby, if he took a shortcut they should see each other right away, but he still could smoke one cigarette at that time.

He reached into his pocket in search of a lighter when he heard the call behind him:

“Jones! Oi, Jones!”

“Oh fuck, Zenigata. Where did he come from here?”

He tried to control himself and smiled friendly at the man running towards him.

“Inspector, where are you in such a hurry? Something happened?”

“Not yet, but it can happen soon!” Zenigat shouted, and without slowing down he ran into surprised Jigen. They both landed on concrete. Hidden behind the belt Magnum painfully stuck in Jigen's back, and the weight of the man effectively prevented his escape.

"Wow, inspector, I would expect some date invitation first or at least a beer," Jigen tried to joke. Zenigata actually laughed, but it was a laugh filled with superiority and complacency.

“I caught you, Jigen Daisuke!“ he announced, ripping the mask off Jigen's face. “Ha! I was right!” he exclaimed and immediately pulled a pair of handcuffs from his jacket pocket.

“What gave me away?” said Jigen only when the metal snaps around his wrists.

“Nothing, I will sniff out everyone from Lupin gang from a kilometer!"

Jigen refrained from remembering those hundreds of times when, despite the obvious disguises, Zenigata suspected absolutely nothing. Instead, he merely smirked.

The inspector suddenly leaned abruptly (which pressed the revolver even more against Jigen's back) and brought his face dangerously closer to Jigen.

“I know you have some contact with Lupine! Hello, Lupine! Can you hear me!?” he shouted directly into Jigen's ear and of course not to the one in which he had an earphone. “I know you're here too! Haloooo!”

“I hear, I hear, Pops. Leave poor Jigen-chan, or he'll be deaf.”

“Lupine!” Jigen exclaimed happily.

“LUPIN!” Zenigata echoed with even greater joy.

"At your service," Lupine bowed, getting rid of the mask. He was standing five meters away, still dressed up as a waiter, with a monkey smile and Walther aimed at Zenigata. “You have so much fun together here! Tell me, Jigen-chan, did he even invite you for a coffee?”

Jigen snorted.

“I just said the same thing.”

“Well, I have always known that Pops is a man of action, but I bet that he was a romantic in his soul. And here, neither flowers nor holding hands, he immediately started to work!”

It was only after these words that Zenigata realized what position he had landed with Jigen. He was too happy to discover Jones' true identity before, but now that he thought about it...

He sat on his legs apart, holding Jigen’s handcuffed hands and so close to his face that he could see a single gray hair in a black beard. Smiling Jigen winked at him, and Zenigata jumped to his feet.

“What...?! I- no- what!?”

He heard Lupine laugh behind him and turned toward him, all red on his face, and when he turned his gaze on Jigen, he, despite his hands handcuffed, was already aiming his Magnum directly at Zenigata's chest. The inspector immediately realized his position. He raised his hands and watched Jigen rise from the ground and, without dropping Zenigata from the crosshair, approached Lupine, who removed his handcuffs.

“One shot and every guard will be come here," he said, but Lupine just shrugged.

“Maybe yes, maybe not. Jigen, run to Goemon, I will take care of Pops”, Jigen only cast a dubious look from under his baseball cap, but he obediently walked toward the building. He didn't look back and after a minute he was at the door. Two bodyguards were standing under them, which would normally be quite strange, after all, theoretically only a security office should be in the building, but due to the Queen Bee show taking place, it made 100% sense. He put the visor on his face more, just flashed the identifier in their eyes and headed straight for the office. The door to it was equipped with an electronic lock, opened with identifiers. Jigen stuck a small device to it, the invention of Lupine, which should completely block the door and prevent both entry and exit.

“Goemon, where are you?” he whispered, and then he got a quiet reply:

“Basement.”

Jumping down two steps at a time, he ran downstairs.

Goemon, already with his hair down and without glasses, was squatting at the door to the room, Zantetsuken pulled out of its scabbard and ready to strike.

"Fujiko is inside," he said.

"If only she didn't think of doing something stupid."

As soon as Jigen said the words, there was a bang and the whole building shook. Suddenly the door they stood under came out of the hinges, and they only miraculously avoided being crushed. Someone, or rather many someones, shouted, the alarm went off, and a woman ran out of the room, holding a brooch in one hand and the edge of dress in the other.

“What are you waiting at?!” Fujiko shouted. Goemon and Jigen looked at each other and started running after the woman because what else they were supposed to do.

“Was it your brilliant plan?” Jigen asked as they ran out of the building.

"More or less," Fujiko replied. “Where do you have a car?”

"Follow me," Jigen turned right toward the parking lots. Yesterday he got to the expo by taxi with his boss, but today he drove his own, or rather Lupine, car.

They could not hear any shots behind them, because the security did not carry firearms. They also left the pursuit far behind, and they were only slowed down by Fujiko high heels. Jigen tried to contact Lupine several times, but he either lost his earphone or turned it off, both options were just as likely.

“Are you kidding me?” Fujiko commented, when they arrived at the parking lot, and Jigen instead of going to some bus or at least a normal car, came to the green Toddler.

"I'd like to," he only replied, turning the key in the door. Goemon quickly got into the back seat and Fujiko took the seat next to the driver.

“Is this Lupine's car?”

“What do you think?”

Fujiko snorted in response, and the Toddler started, this time without a problem. After the last action, Jigen and Goemon insisted on scrapping this green monstrosity, but Lupine instead gave it to a mechanic to replace the rear window and do a comprehensive overhaul. Fortunately, he covered it all with his own pocket, because for a small toy car, the Toddler was consuming an amazing amount of money.

“Where is Lupine?” Goemon asked.

"He's taking care of Pops," Jigen replied, entering a sharp turn at the exit of the parking lot while ramming the barrier. Now the most important thing was to disappear from here as soon as possible before the police ordered.

"And are you going to leave him there?"

"Who like who, but this idiot will be fine," said Jigen, changing the visor cap to his beloved hat, which politely waited for him in the car.

Goemon didn't seem to be satisfied with this answer.

“Still, I think we should turn back for him.”

“You know that Lupine is worse than a cockroach, so certainly-AAAAAAAAAAAA!” Jigen screamed and sharply applied the brake when something landed on the Toddler's mask. Squeaks escaped Fujiko and Goemon's throats, and the samurai cleared his throat quickly and turned pink.

“Go, go, go!” something shouted in Lupine's voice.

Jigen didn't have to be repeated twice. He rushed along the streets of Gdansk with Lupine tightly fastened, ignoring all traffic rules and other drivers. He turned into a small street and stopped so that Lupine could climb into the toy car in place of Fujiko, who without pushing back the chair, but as if by chance kicking Jigen with the knee, got into the back seat. Before the door closed, the Toddler coughed again and ran across the usually quiet neighborhood.

Sirens could be heard all over the city and it was a miracle that they had not run into any police car yet. They had ten minutes to a safe place, by then they had to go as far as possible, but this frantic ride was paying too much attention.

The exit road from the estate connected to one of the main roads and after pushing himself into the string of cars, Jigen slowed down, trying to fit into the usual night traffic. Once the police car speeding the other way passed, but then all the passengers tried to hide in any way.

Everyone breathed a sigh when Jigen pulled into the underground garage and was able to leave the Toddler. Lupine wrapped his arm around Fujiko without wasting time.

“”Fujicakes, honey! It is definitely destiny that has decided to put us on our path again!”

"Nice to see you too, Lupine," the woman replied and firmly pushed away his face as he came too close.

“Fujiko, what about the brooch?” Goemon asked, and the woman pulled a trinket from her neckline. Everyone stared at the ornament for a moment. It was impressive, but Jigen thought he certainly wouldn't have given the few hundred thousand euros for it. Fortunately, it was not he who decided the price, but the rich people who had nothing to do with the money.

Lupine wanted to take a brooch from Fujiko, but the woman was faster and hid her in the neckline again.

"I stole it," she said.

“But thanks to us you escaped!” Lupine pointed out immediately.

"I wouldn't have to run away if your presence didn't ruin my plan."

“You destroyed our plan!”

Fujiko stuck out tongue to Jigen.

“Easy, now. We will share equally, right, Fujicakes?”

“Of course. Fifty percent for me.”

"... that is not very even," Goemon said, and Fujiko spread her hands.

“This is my first and last offer.”

“It's a daylight robbery!”

“If you don't like something, you can give up your part.”

“Agh! That's why I hate women!” the resigned Jigen put his hat more on his face.

"I would advise you to move to a safer place with further negotiations," said Goemon. The sirens' roar suddenly became even louder.

“Voice of reason! Let’s go,” Lupine ordered. Their safe apartment was two blocks away. They fled to it, only twice hiding in the shadows from police patrols.

Jigen could finally sit on the couch with scotch in his hand. For a few months he didin’t have to worry about Fujiko, but as usual she returned to their life in her own style – explosively. Anyways, maybe that's good. After all, the gang couldn’t be complete without her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow translating this chapter was really a pain.   
> Fun fact: I've been in Gdańsk last year, months after I had written this fic and every time I saw signpost to "Amber Expo" I was like: "Ah... yes... the expo where Lupin and the gang were..." XD


	3. Natasha

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> > Jigen and Fujiko teams up  
> >Fujiko is bi  
> > Lupin is horny  
> > Goemon blushes a lot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been 84 years.  
> Sorry. But please enjoy the 3rd chapter of Amber Adventure that has no connection to the previous ones.

Jigen was brutally pulled out of his nap when someone moved his hat. He immediately grabbed his trademark and sat up abruptly, holding it with his hand all the time. A tall blonde stood in front of him, dressed elegantly, with lips highlighted with red lipstick and delicate makeup that perfectly matched the blue of her eyes. If Jigen had not seen this wig in Lupin's room before, he would certainly have aimed his Magnum at those artificial breasts.

“What are you doing?”

“Huh? Don’t you find me attractive?” Lupin asked, imitating a female voice. He spinned around, and the long, flowing skirt spread like flower petals, revealing black stilettos and a fragment of shaved calves. Blonde curls, arranged in artistic disorder, fell on an artificial C-cup breast.

Jigen diplomatically decided not to answer, instead he asked, smiling wryly:

“Do you have a plan or since you are not successful with Fujiko you decided to literally take matters into your own hands?”

Lupin snorted offended and, returning to his usual voice, announced:

“We're going shopping!”

Jigen groaned loudly. 

“But Goemon has already gone!”

“But we are going too!”

“Why!? What purchases require putting on a skirt!?”

“Don’t you know? Clothes!”

Jigen still gave him an uncomprehending look. He was slowly beginning to suspect that Lupin was becoming more and more lunatic with age. And that would seem impossible.

“The police are looking for the greatest thief of all time, Lupin the Third. So, going out on the town like this,” here he spinned again to present his new look. “I will be safe and even Pops will not suspect that such a hot chick is me!”

Well. It made sense. Maybe not too big, but it did.

“What do you need me for?”

“Think, Jigen dear. Who will scare off intrusive admirers!?”

Jigen laughed so loudly that he bent in half and couldn't catch his breath. Lupin pouted his cheeks and looked offended. He didn't understand at all what was so funny. In his opinion, today he looked even better than Fujiko! Or maybe he should have worn that red dress? No, it was short – halfway up the thigh – and Jigen's poor old heart could not stand that much nakedness.

Finally, when Jigen calmed down, he adjusted his hat and, sending Lupin an ironic smile, stretched his arm like a gentleman (whom he considered himself).

"Let's go, _Miss Marry,_ " Lupin's brow twitched at the mention of that name. “The sooner we go, the sooner we'll come back.”

How naive this sentence was.

Four hours. Four hours took Lupin to pass through two shopping malls and three streets. He didn't despise any store, went to every one, from the most expensive to second hands. Sometimes he just looked and turned up his nose, sometimes he came out with a full bag, which of course Jigen had to carry.

Jigen’s suffering seemed endless. Something in him was dying every time he was forced to try on clothes that were neither a shirt, nor a suit. And the worst thing was that even after returning to the apartment, this nightmare didn’t end.

“Jigen dear~”

“No way, I won't put it on.”

“Come on, you wear shirts all the time.”

“But not SUCH!”

Jigen looked at cloth held by Lupin in disgust. He would have survived the fact that the shirt was two-colored, but the glaring pink on the left and the rotten green on the right would be enough to scare anyone with any sense of style. However, this was nothing. The pink part was additionally decorated with a leopard pattern, and the pocket was decorated with sequins. Jigen seriously wondered if the one who designed this shirt had at least a pinch of reason and human dignity.

“Why have you bought IT!?”

“Because it was for two zlotys! Two zlotys, Jigen!”

“That’s not an argument!”

Lupin snorted and turned on his heel. He pretended to put the shirt back in the bag, but as soon as he heard that behind him Jigen breathed a sigh of relief, he quickly threw himself back. In his head, it looked something like this: he forces Jigen against the wall, forces him to insert a pink-green monster, and then takes a picture and has the perfect material for blackmail! Fujiko will definitely be pleased, maybe even this time she will allow for something more than a modest kiss on the cheek. Ah, Fujiko, Fujiko ...

A blissful smile already appeared on Lupin's face, when suddenly the whole intricate plan was ruined by gravity combined with high heels and a too long hem of the skirt. Trying to somehow save himself, he released the nightmare of fashion stylists and instead managed to grab the purple shirt, while pulling its owner with him to the ground.

They froze for a split second, Lupin on the floor, still clutching to Jigen’s shirt, now untucked, without a few buttons, and Jigen above him, leaning on his elbows and knees.

And Goemon found them exactly in this position, when he opened the apartment door. Time seemed to stop for a moment, until suddenly the samurai's face turned all red. He looked away and picked up the dropped shopping bag.

“I’m sorry, Jigen, I didn't know you had a guest.”

Goemon began to close the door, and Jigen immediately jumped to his feet, shouting:

“Wait, Goemon! It's not like that, it's just Lupin and...” realizing what he just said, Jigen felt red on his face. “No, wait, it's not...”

“Ah. I understand," Goemon said softly. His hair fell on his face, covering his even redder cheeks. He slammed the door shut behind him.

“Goemon! Goemon, stop!” Jigen ran after him, while Lupin, still on the floor, curled up laughing.

"So Fujiko wanted to have something on me, so she told you to take a compromising picture of me?" Jigen summarized the story, and Lupin, now sitting without his disguise, shrugged.

“Well, what could I do, you don’t refuse such a woman.”

"You especially refuse such a woman!" Jigen set his glass down with a bang on the table, then turned to Goemon. “As you can see, all this is nothing but stupidity of Lupin and Fujiko scheming again. Nothing happened here. Nothing!” he emphasized, aggressively putting the empty Scotch bottle on the floor. Why does good alcohol end so quickly?

“I understand. However, there are different types of love and...”

"Don't say anything more," Jigen interrupted him and covered his face with his hand. “And let's finish the topic, huh? I have the impression that there isn’t enough alcohol in this country to forget about all this,” he added quietly, more to himself, but this did not escape Lupin's attention.

“Why must you be so cruel, Jigen-chan? Would it be so bad to sleep with me?”

“YES," Jigen said emphatically, rising from the couch. “I'm going to the liquor store.”

Lupin snorted and turned away so he didn’t have to look at Jigen. He drank the leftover whiskey that remained in his glass.

"Why exactly did Fujiko want to blackmail Jigen?" Goemon asked, offering Lupin his shouchuu. The man gratefully set the empty glass, while the answer came from the door:

“Because she’s a bitch.”

“Jigen!” Lupin admonished him immediately, but his only answer was the door slam.

Lupin sighed loudly and tasted the new alcohol. Compared to whiskey, it was sweeter and diluting slightly weakened the power. He watched Goemon preparing his drink for a moment, pouring water first, then shouchuu, in about a three to two ratio. All samurai movements seemed to be carefully thought out, there was no room for even a slight deviation. Then, with anointing, he took his glass in both hands and took a sip.

"Japanese alcohol is the best," Goemon said, noticing Lupin's eyes. He sounded a bit like he wanted to explain himself, and his cheeks gently pinked.

Lupine waved a hand. Exceptionally, he didn’t mean to embarrass his samurai, he just liked observing him.

“What’s Fujiko’s plan this time?" he said after a moment of silence.

"Whatever it is, for some reason she needs Jigen,” Goemon replied. “I wonder why. I thought they hate each other."

Lupin nodded. He touched the glass with his mouth and froze in that position.

Goemon was a bit worried, seeing motionless Lupin was something unusual. He may not be the best at reading people’s emotions, but after working so long with the world's best thief, he managed to understand some of his behavior. For example, now, motionless and serious, he seemed to be planning another robbery, or solving a complicated puzzle in his head. Probably he was trying to understand what Fujiko’s plan was. That woman was always scheming something.

"Goemon-chan," Lupin began, and when he stopped stilling, he drank everything he had in his glass. Seeing this, Goemon winced. After all, shouchuu should be sipped, not drank at once like a cheap vodka. Lupin put the glass down on the table, simultaneously knocking down an empty bottle of whiskey. “Why doesn't anyone want to sleep with me!?”

Goemon choked on his own saliva and coughed, thanking the gods that he wasn't drinking. He felt red on his face, but he could now blow it over to fight for breath. He hit his chest a few times and tried to calm down, while Lupin stood up and walked around the room.

“Fujiko rejects me again, and now because of the stupid Jigen, who didn't want to put on a stylish shirt, I won't even get a kiss from her! Ah, Fujicakes, Fujicakes, wherefore art thou Fujicakes! And stupid Jigen, an old fart, he made a scene, like a child! Hey, Goemon,” the samurai straightened up and leaned back as soon as Lupin's face materialized right in front of his nose. “Am I unattractive?”

“I-I am not the right person to judge," Goemon answered quietly, looking away.

Meanwhile, Jigen modified his plans – if he bought a bottle of whiskey (or five), he would have to return to the apartment with them. That's why he was walking toward the center now, looking for bars along the way. It was only sixteen o'clock, so most of them were still closed, which only exacerbated the gunman's annoyance. Eventually, however, he could go to the liquor store and then hide in a park, hoping that the police would not find him. He wasn’t in the mood for dealing with officer only because in this stupid country it’s illegal to drink in public places.

He just wanted to find a small bar, sit down and spend a heavily stolen cash for exorbitantly expensive alcohol. Fuck it, he deserves it.

Unfortunately, the world was not on his side and he only managed to find a craft beer pub. Perhaps if he went somewhere further, he would be able to find the perfect, suspicious and shady hole, but it would require even more steps, and why walk if you can sit.

He entered the pub and was greeted by the interior too lightly for his taste. He expected to be the only customer at this time, but at the bar was sitting a woman. Jigen passed by her and glanced at the chalked beers. Most names said nothing at all to him, so he decided to use the only correct method in choosing:

"The strongest one you have, please," he said in English. The bartender nodded and after a while put a tall glass in front of him, full of almost completely black liquid, adorned with the right amount of slightly brownish foam. Jigen thanked and wanted to pull his wallet out of his pocket, but his hand encountered a void.

“Are you looking for this?” he heard an annoyingly familiar voice. The woman sitting at the bar turned around, holding his wallet in her hand. Jigen snatched his property from her and paid the bartender for a beer.

Fujiko, in a black wig with straight hair, with glasses and only light makeup, smiled and supported her cheek with her hand. With the other hand, she patted the next seat.

“Don't you want to accompany me?”

"No," Jigen replied briefly, but still sat down on the indicated stool. “Are you following me?” he asked after tasting his beer. A bit too sweet for his taste. Maybe Goemon would like it.

“I don't have to. I just decided to wait in the only open bar in the area. I knew you would be here sooner or later. And if not, I could always take advantage of this nice gentleman's company,” Fujiko winked at the bartender, who was clearly embarrassed and went away aside to wipe glasses or what the bartenders do when they try to pretend to be busy.

"You could also call and say what you want, not make Lupin blackmail me."

“I could, but then it wouldn't be so funny, right?” she gave him one of those smiles after which Lupin would be halfway off removing his pants. Jigen, however, hid even more under his hat. The beer was almost over, so he ordered the same thing a second time and paid for Fujiko beer. They waited until the bartender moved away a bit and only then the woman spoke, lowering her voice and changing the language to Japanese:

“I want to hire you.”

Jigen was about to make a joke that he was not whore, unlike her, and she could have Lupin for free, but he refrained after seeing her eyes.

“You know I don't accept contracts anymore.”

“I know. But I also know that you are the best shooter in the world, and besides…”

"Lupin also shoots well," he interrupted her at once. “Besides, there's Goemon. Both of them would happily help you with whatever you plan. No matter who you want dead, I have more interesting things to do.”

“For example, getting drunk unconscious in a bar?” she asked with a sneer.

“See, we understand each other," Jigen gave her a crooked smile and raised his glass like a toast. Fujiko rolled her eyes.

“Believe me, if I could, I wouldn't ask you to. But I have no choice. I don't want to get Goemon involved, especially not Lupin. You are the only one left for me. Only you, Jigen, dear…” she uttered the last word in a whisper, right next to his ear.

“You know it doesn’t work on me?” he asked, pushing her face away. Fujiko threw up her hair and smiled.

“It's always worth a try.”

Jigen snorted and focused on his glass. Something was fishy. Always, ALWAYS, when it came to Fujiko the gunslinger had the worst feeling. It was no different now. This woman's plans often had a second or third or fourth bottom, with each subsequent getting better for her and worse for the rest of the gang.

“So what's the job? I won’t kill just anyone for you,” he said after a while, already regretting that instead of getting up and going to find a liquor shop, he decided to wade into this sticky swamp, probably filled with lies and betrayals.

“Head of the local Ukrainian mafia. A few years ago he moved to Poland. Now he’s probably the largest crook in the area.”

“Good for him,” Jigen said, and took a long drink from his glass. “Although probably better for you. Do you want me to get rid of the obtrusive lover? I thought you were doing very well on your own. To rob a guy and disappear the next morning is your method of earning a living, I don't understand why you need me.”

Fujiko told him to order one more beer and began her story.

She met Natasha two weeks ago. They ran into each other by accident in a shop when a Ukrainian woman in broken Ukrainian-Russian-English tried to explain to the saleswoman that she wanted to return a pair of shoes bought the day before, because the sole had fallen apart. Fujiko helped her by using her linguistic skills, and then from word to word, through one coffee and one apple pie with ice cream, came to the fact that Fujiko would teach her English. They met again and again, and finally Natasha did not return to the flat rented with her five friends for the night.

"You know, she was very cute," Fujiko said with melancholy in her voice. She smiled sadly. “Unfortunately, that was also her weakness.”

Natasha and her friends came to Poland in search of a better life. The trip was organized by an employment agency, so the next day after arriving in the country, the girls had to appear in the restaurant. Some were allocated to the kitchen sink, some to the kitchen and some to help in the room.

“Natasha, thanks to her beauty, became a waitress. Unfortunately for her, because the local regular is a local gangster, Ivan Ivanenko”

“Not a very original name.”

After a few days Natasha became Ivan's favorite. Every day she had to serve at his table, sometimes entertaining his guests with conversation. She enjoyed the role - big tips slid into her pocket even without her knowledge.

"You know, Fujiko," Natasha began, gently drawing the subtle shapes with her fingertips on the older woman's bare stomach. They lay together in a huge bed. The night was so warm that they didn’t need blankets,their own bodies were enough. “Ivan said he got me a job in an expensive restaurant. I am to become the head of the room there, and maybe even a manager someday. And for the first payment I will take you to dinner!”

Fujiko stroked her hair and kissed her head. When was the last time she saw someone so cheerful, charming and innocent? Spending with her these long evenings, transforming into short nights and quiet mornings was the perfect escape from everyday life.

"Even you would be captivated by her," Fujiko elbowed Jigen. The man did not even comment on this, but Fujiko was sure that he rolled his eyes hidden under his hat.

"If she was so perfect, why are you drinking here with me instead of sitting with her?”

“Maybe something just draws me to older men?” She snuggled against Jigen's shoulder, and he winced and let out an incomprehensible murmur. Seeing his face, Fujiko pulled away. She couldn't help laughing. “There, there, don’t be so afraid, I won’t take your virginity.”

“You'd better watch your own. Ah, wait, you lost it half a century ago.”

Fujiko stuck out her tongue, drank beer and went back to the story. 

They made an appointment for the next evening, but Natasha didn’t appear. She also didn't answer any messages or calls. When the next day the situation repeated itself, Fujiko visited the restaurant, in which Natasha was supposed to work now. There, however, they never heard of such a girl. So she looked into her previous job, where she heard words of jealousy from young Ukrainian women ("she got promoted only thanks to a pretty face!"), while the eldest cook looked away whenever Natasha's name was mentioned. Fujiko decided to wait for her after work and debrief her. Eventually she pulled information that she had sensed for some time. 

“Ivan would choose a favorite girl at the restaurant from time to time. He promised a better job and a better life. In the end he invited them to his place, but no girls came back from there yet.” Fujiko noticed that Jigen froze. 

“Serial or psycho?” he asked in an icy tone. 

"A human trafficker," she replied, and Jigen cursed. First in English, but as if recognizing that the usual "fuck" does not have enough power, he added a juicy "kurwa". “He owns a small manor house near the city. He doesn’t spend much on protection, probably thinks that he’s in no danger, so sneaking there was easier than convincing Lupin to undress.”

Fujiko moved between the shadows, using all her thieving skills. At three o'clock in the morning, the manor house seemed to be a dead, homeless place. She wandered its empty corridors, putting her ear to every door she encountered. She rarely heard anything, and light was coming out only from one of the largest, two-winged doors. She gently pressed the door handle and pushed the door just enough to look through the crack.

There were about ten of them, all naked, lying on the floor. In the dim light, she could see nothing but the bodies and the great bed in the middle of the room. Someone sleeping just moved on it and snored. It was this sound that pulled Fujiko out of lethargy. She took off one of the earrings, which was a ball slightly larger than the head of a pin, squatted down and placed it on the wall, next to the floor. Nobody should notice this little webcam.

“It was the day before yesterday. When I returned to the apartment immediately I turned the view on. And in the morning I saw her, Jigen. I saw Natasha among them.”

Jigen greedily drank from his glass. In the meantime more guests began to come to the bar, so the bartender didn’t immediately pay attention to the gunman's calling gesture. It wasn't until he got another beer and drank more than half at a time, when Jigen was ready to look at Fujiko. This time his eyes were clearly visible from under the brim of the hat. Despite the alcohol he had drunk, his eyes were sharp and determined.

“I understand you already have a plan?” he asked and Fujiko smiled at him. And she began to speak.

Jigen was returning to the apartment, barely seeing the way in front of him. Unfortunately, it wasn’t due to alcohol but due to getting lost in his own thoughts.

Fujiko's plan was good. Not perfect, just okay. And crazy, since it only included the two of them. On the other hand, he understood why Lupin and Goemon couldn’t do it, neither of them would like the woman's method. And besides…

He remembered Fujiko's eyes when he once again expressed his doubt about keeping it all secret. The plan could be modified to include the rest of the gang. The work would be so much easier that way. They would simply take the manor house by storm and before anyone from security could react, the girls would be free and Ivan bound and on his way to the police station. 

However, this solution didn’t satisfy Fujiko. "I want to watch him die," she told him, and her eyes seemed to belong to someone else for a short moment. 

He had seen this look more than once in his life. Craving for revenge, unforgiving and not compromising. For some reason, be it because of this young Natasha, or maybe because of old memories, Fujiko wanted Ivan's death. And Jigen was the only person who could deliver it to her, without unwanted questions and trying to change her decision.

He pulled out another cigarette as soon as he finished the previous one. It was good that in addition to whiskey, he also bought a few packs of Marlboro. Although if he smoked at such a rate, they would soon disappear.

He still couldn't give up the impression that it was all just another Fujiko’s plot. There was no Ivan or Natasha and instead of waiting for rescue girls, there will be only Zenigata waiting in the police car or, worse, some bane from the past, counting on revenge for killing their father/son/love of life, or anyone else.

He shouldn’t have accepted this job. He definitely shouldn't. Even apart from the fact that he ended up with the life of a paid killer, his employer was Fujiko. Fujiko! He would not trust this woman in the matter of making scrambled eggs, let alone go with her alone on a mission, where one mistake and both of them can find themselves two meters underground. No, no, no, he should definitely call her and say that he had changed his mind. Fuck the payment, he isn’t Lupin and won’t let this woman trick him.

On the other hand…

Jigen had a weakness for damsels in distress, and somehow it happened that all the representatives of the fairer sex in his life either cheated on him or died in his arms. And yet, he always came to the rescue, although unlike Lupin he didn’t count on reward or affection. It just always seemed like the right thing to do.

He kicked, in anger and helplessness, a stone lying on the pavement.

He'll do it. He will do it even if everything in him screams that like the last moron (Lupin) he’ll be dragged by Fujiko into one of her games. In the worst case, he’ll die or go to jail, and in the best will win a nice sum of money and a favor (the latter was not entirely sure, because how can you trust the promises of that woman).

The whiskey bottles bouncing on each other made a familiar sound as he climbed the stairs. He spent part of the advance from Fujiko on them. If he’s going to die tomorrow, he’ll get drunk today with the best booze he could find in this country.

He entered the apartment and found Lupin and Goemon occupying the couch. Lupin turned away immediately and his face narrowed. Jigen was ready for some comment about the argument before (he only remembered about it now. He had the impression that it all happened in his previous life), so he was surprised to watch as Lupin took out his wallet from his pocket, counted two banknotes and handed them to Goemon.

“Jigen! I am disappointed in you!”

“What?”

Despite the cries of discontent, Lupin moved on the couch to make room for Jigen. The gunman shook his head, put his shopping on the table, and sat down in the armchair. Two people on the couch were already a crowd, and three would be a blasphemy.

"We bet on what condition you will be back in," Goemon explained. Lupin set his glass to make Jigen pour freshly opened Scotch to it.

“I was sure you’ll come back on your knees! You're getting older, Jigen, you're out of shape!”

"Do you think so low about me!?"

“Of course no, Jigen, dear! I just have great faith in your alcoholism!”

“Fuck you,” Jigen replied, pouring himself some more whiskey.

"It's so boring to do it myself," Lupin said, though no one expected him to answer. Goemon moved as far as the couch allowed. "You hurt my feelings, Goemon-chan," Lupin murmured. Seeing this, Jigen burst out laughing. Maybe two more glasses and that whole meeting with Fujiko in the bar will turn out to be just a bad dream.

The next morning, or rather early afternoon, brought him a dry throat and a slight headache. Jigen sat up in surprise. Firstly, because his hat was on the floor instead of his head, and secondly, because he had noticed any hangover symptoms at all. Was he getting old...?

He rose from the couch and stretched. He didn't quite remember why, but his shirt was half open and his jacket was hanging on the armchair. Maybe he wanted to undress to sleep, but he gave up halfway and eventually spent the night fully dressed in the living room instead of the bedroom? Yes, it definitely sounds like him.

On the table, apart from empty bottles, plates and rubbish, stood a glass filled with water, and next to it lay a white tablet. Jigen immediately threw her into the water and watched the bubbles rise for a moment before he noticed the note decorated with Lupin's characteristic scribble.

"I and Goemon-chan are going out and don’t want to wake up such a charming sleeping beauty. We'll be back tonight, until then you have to endure somehow without us xxx ~ Lupin III "

“You could’ve sent a text," Jigen muttered to himself, crushed the message and dropped it on a pile of trash. He drank his electrolytes, looked into the bedroom he shared with Goemon, took a fresh set of clothes and a towel and disappeared for an hour in the bathroom.

He spent the rest of the day doing what Jigens like best - lying on the couch, flipping through TV channels, browsing the newspaper, generally relaxing and indulging in blissful laziness. He relished this silence, so impossible to achieve when Lupin was within a kilometer radius. For a moment he also considered, in accordance with the old Polish saying "what has poisoned you, will heal you", to finish the whiskey, which remained after yesterday, but gave up this idea. He had to have a sober mind and solid hand for the action, because not only his and Fujiko's lives, but also innocent girls would depend on him.

After 7 pm he dragged himself out of bed, put the newly opened pack of Marlboro in his jacket pocket, and went downstairs to get into the already waiting Fujiko's silver Sharan. He immediately slid the chair back so that he could comfortably stretch his legs. He threw his bag with a rifle, bullets and other equipment on the back, from where all the seats were removed, and lit a cigarette.

“Such a gentleman and won’t offer one to a lady?” Fujiko commented sarcastically.

“I care for your lungs," he replied, releasing a cloud of smoke at her. Fujiko rolled her eyes.

They spent the rest of the journey in silence. They discussed the plan in detail yesterday, and each of them was too proud to admit they would like to repeat something again. They were professionals, they didn’t need to roll such a simple action indefinitely.

Fujiko stopped three kilometers in front of Ivan's estate. Jigen swung the bag over his back and got out, casting a short "good luck". He didn’t wait for an answer, immediately slammed the door and moved forward. He pulled out his phone and selected a file with a map Fujiko had sent him. He was almost two kilometers to the designated place, he should hurry up. 

He arrived in about twenty minutes. He sighed, standing under the high voltage pole. He had to climb about halfway and lay down comfortably with his rifle. He still looked around - he was on a hill, surrounded only by low bushes and young trees. Above their crowns he saw a fragment of the roof of Ivan's mansion. If Fujiko's information was true - and it had to be, because now there was no turning back - when he’ll be at a height of about eight meters he should have a good view of the large balcony door of the main bedroom.

Climbing wasn’t the most difficult part, it was worse to find the perfect position, and then pull out and set up the equipment. His SWD sniper rifle may not have been the latest model, but it had worked great for years. He attached a bipod and a telescope to it, before making sure that there were ten bullets in the clip.

Evening was slowly approaching, but he still had at least half an hour of daylight. He brought his night vision device if necessary, but Fujiko assured him that the action shouldn’t take so long. Unless something goes wrong, but then a night vision would be useless anyway.

After ten minutes, during which his left leg numb twice, the bedroom curtains moved. Through a small crack, Jigen could see the naked Fujiko slowly receding. It was her plan that Lupin would never agree to, and Goemon would be too embarrassed to do anything.

By the time they met at the bar, Fujiko had already wrapped Ivan around his finger. All she had to do was show up at his restaurant, talk to him, pretend to be a poor Russian woman looking for a job, and had already been invited to his mansion. Really, Jigen found it amazing how stupid were men who let themselves be tied up by her charm and fall into her traps. He was different, of course. After all, he wasn’t sitting on the energy pole for Fujiko, but only for all those poor girls who couldn’t count on anyone.

He watched Fujiko get onto the bed, and when she lay down she disappeared from view in a tangle of pillows and quilts. After a while, a man came to the furniture. A thick gold chain around his neck, almost complete baldness and a face not touched by a deeper thought - Jigen guessed that it had to be Ivan. He was unbuttoning his belt, and when he was done with it and threw off the rest of the unnecessary clothing, he climbed onto the bed.

He immediately got to the point and Jigen winced. Watching a horny Ukrainian was not his favorite way of spending a free evening, but, what could he do, he agreed to this job. He waited a moment for Ivan to catch the rhythm and aimed. Two shots were heard, one after the other. The first one went through the man’s skull, probably instantly killing him. It was Fujiko’s problem now. He’d rather shoot once more at him, to make sure this bastard was cold and dead, but she asked not to do it. 

“I’ll deal with him,” she said, when they were discussing the plan. “You’ll have to open the balcony door. Ivan is an idiot who doesn't pay much for his security, but he’s still a coward. He never lets anyone open his balcony door or to move curtains. I can take care of the second one, but you have to unlock the door.”

And he did. The second shot was dedicated to the door's lock. It was the special bullet, made by Lupin, that exploded after contact with it’s aim. It was a small explosion, but still powerful enough to totally destroy the lock.

After two shots, Fujiko immediately went to the balcony, opened the curtains and the door. As soon as she did it, she ran back, jumping over the bed and probably instructing the girls in the room. Jigen saw her pulling the hair of one of them and trying to put her on her feet. He didn’t have time to observe them any longer. He had to change position a bit, so he could see the whole interior of the room.

For security reasons, the doors didn’t have a lock from the inside, and because the only piece of furniture in the room was a large and probably heavy bed, so there was nothing to block a door with. Fujiko claimed that there were only five Ivan's sidekicks in the estate, and Jigen sincerely hoped it was true, because he would be able to kill them all without changing the clip.

As soon as the door opened, Jigen fired. For a moment nothing happened and suddenly both leaves flew out of the hinges and four adult men with weapons in their hands appeared in the field of destruction. The gunslinger immediately took off the two of them. He managed to only hurt the third’s shoulder, and the fourth, the smartest, as it turns out, hid behind the door frame. Jigen waited patiently for him to decide to lean, but when that did not happen, he allowed himself a quick glance at the situation in the room. All the girls have already managed to move to the balcony. They presented a fairly pathetic view, naked and curled up.

Jigen could no longer watch Fujiko tie the blanket to the sheet to make a makeshift rope that would help them all leave the balcony. He had to focus again on the other two gangsters. One of them just looked out from behind the door frame, which ended in a tragic bullet to his head. That left only one who probably called for backups anyway. The first to arrive were these few guards who were stationed at the gatehouse at the entrance gate to the property. The rest of the people weren’t in the house, so it would take them a minimum of half an hour to get there.

The next stage of the plan that would definitely be easier if they had at least one additional person in the team. But they had to work with what they had got. From his place Jigen didn’t see the driveway and couldn’t help Fujiko if backups showed too soon. She had her weapon hidden in the car, so now she was on her own, until she got to the Sharan. Jigen could only watch how girls, who one after one were following Fujiko in their escape from the balcony.

An infinitely long minute passed. The last gangster didn’t appear in Jigen’s field of vision, and the gunman felt as if he had lost control of everything. He cursed under his breath. Apparently that last man wasn't such an idiot as his colleagues. He probably hid in the mansion waiting for the backups or...

Jigen took his eye away from the telescope for a moment and climbed a little higher. From this perspective, he could see the entire car and the main door of the mansion that had just opened. He waited a few more seconds and the last gangster fell down lifeless, the weight of his body completely opening the door.

At that moment Jigen's role was over. Without seeing the entire driveway, he couldn't take the guards off anyway, he had to trust Fujiko in this matter. According to her plan, she should already find her pistol and cover the escaping girls. Jigen for a moment watched how she instructed them to get into the car, hurrying them up. She had prepared the Sharan before, removing all seats except two in the front. They will be cramped and uncomfortable, but they will be safe. 

Jigen put the weapon in his bag and went down. He quickly glanced at the map and started running toward the road. From here he had less than a kilometer to it, so being careful not to kill himself running downhill, he got there in about five minutes. He fell onto the asphalt road, several dozen meters to the right of the main entrance gate. There were no cars in sight, so he immediately headed toward the gate, pulling out his revolver on the run. He hid it after a while, however, when the Sharan stopped next to him, with a squeak of tires. He got in the passenger seat, this time holding the rifle bag on his lap.

“Put some clothes on," he said, looking away from naked Fujiko.

“A normal guy would be overjoyed to be in the same car with ten naked women.”

“Yhm, especially when escaping from the Ukrainian mafia.”

“Don’t let such details destroy the fun. I have a dress hidden in the glovebox, give it to me, since it bothers you so much.”

“I’m not bothered. I’m rather afraid that you will cause an accident, when we’ll be passing some horny truck driver," he replied, obediently pulling her dress from the glovebox and handing it to the woman. Fujiko, using the empty and straight road, quickly put on a loose, red dress. Jigen looked back. Nine girls, now covered with blankets, somehow tried to fit in the back of the Sharan. The small bus would be more suitable for this mission, but it’d be too suspicious if Fujiko came to the mansion in such a big car. At least the Sharan had tinted windows, so no one from outside could see them.

"One of them got hit on the shoulder," Fujiko said, and Jigen cursed. He knew he should be glad no one died (on their side of course, because the gangsters weren’t so lucky), but these girls were innocent victims. They came to this country looking for a better job and probably a better life, but instead found the nightmare. At least this nine had been rescued, but who knows how many of their predecessors were still imprisoned after being sold like objects. So maybe one hurt shoulder was rather a small price for freedom. Especially considering this somewhat frantic rescue operation.

Jigen didn't know what else to say, so he put his hat down, folded his arms behind his head, and tried to even his breathing. Adrenaline had almost completely left his body, all he could feel was an accelerated pulse and light pressure in his chest after this crazy downhill run.

Fujiko stopped the car near Lupin's apartment. Jigen unbuckled his belt, but before he got out he gave the girls one more look. They were cuddled up, some were shaking and almost all were crying, more or less silently. He didn’t find any words, so he just gave them the most delicate and the friendliest smile he could make at that moment.

“Relax, I'll take them to Zenigata now. The inspector will take care of them. And he’ll clean up after Ivan.”

Jigen turned to Fujiko and smiled crookedly.

“Poor Pops once again will get a random mafia boss instead of Lupin."

“I think he won't complain this time. Of course I won't mention your merits. Although knowing him, he will guess anyway.”

“Doesn't matter," Jigen muttered, and was about to leave when he remembered something. He turned to Fujiko and held out his open hand to her. The woman raised an eyebrow. "My payment," he reminded.

She sighed heavily and waved her hand.

“I remember, I remember. I'll give you the rest next time. Now I would like to take care of the girls as soon as possible. I think you understand that, Jigen-chan?

Jigen winced at the diminutive. Despite this, he did not argue about money, instead he said:

“You promised me a favor.”

“And I understand you already have an idea?”

He grinned.

"You won't betray us for the next five seizures."

“One.”

“Four.”

“Two.”

“Three.”

"Stands," Fujiko sighed theatrically and shook Jigen's hand.

She smiled at him and the smile wasn't steeped in malice or a doomed attempt to charm him. Perhaps for the first time during their long acquaintance she smiled at him truly sincerely, with gratitude and a strange, indescribable glint in her eye. Or maybe it was only Jigen who didn't want to describe him. He did not want to see it neither as friendship, and especially nor as any kind of love. Because if he saw it, he might have to stop blaming her for all the evil in this world. Perhaps he would have to admit to himself that, despite all her betrayals, he cannot imagine a life in which she is not present. She was a bit like an annoying younger sister to him, whom she hates every day, but would carry her out of the burning building on his back.

Fujiko, taking advantage of Jigen's momentary stillness, extended her hands towards him. She adjusted his tie and straightened his jacket. Then she kissed his cheek gently and whispered:

“Thank you.”

Jigen felt his cheeks begin to turn pink, so he immediately hid under his hat as much as he could, muttered something incomprehensible in response and got out of the car. He immediately headed for the flat, not even looking back.

"Fucking Fujiko," he muttered to himself.

The apartment was open and yet when he entered, darkness greeted him. Only from behind the windows was the orange light of street lamps, and the shadows and midtones, as usual, seemed to form human figures... one of which suddenly spoke in Lupin’s voice:

“Well, well, well…”

“What the fuck!?” shouted Jigen, frightened and immediately turned on the light. Lupin sat on the armchair, legs crossed and a glass of wine in his hand, accompanied by Goemon, who was standing next to him.

"Well, well, well," Lupin repeated, drunk a little out of his glass and set it down on the table. “What kind of time is this to come home?”

Jigen looked at his watch in confusion. It was almost eleven o'clock, it was just getting dark outside... He shook his head. He didn't have to excuse himself!

He was about to tell Lupin that he could put such questions in his ass, but suddenly the thief was standing right next to him. Jigen stepped back against the wall, but Lupin came even closer. When they were only millimeters apart and the gunslinger tried to decide if he should push the younger man away, or maybe it’d be better to immediately kick him in the balls, Lupin said:

“Chanel no five.”

“What?” Jigen said, and Lupin moved away to grab his head in a theatrical gesture, aiming at the gunfighter's chest with the other hand.

“Chanel no five!” he exclaimed dramatically. “Fujiko’s perfume!”

Ah... yeah.

"A lot of women use them," Jigen shrugged and was about to ignore this monkey and go to the bathroom, when suddenly Lupin blocked his path, placing his hand on the wall next to his head.

"But the only one we know, and let's face it, you wouldn't meet a random stranger girl!"

“Why not!? What’s your problem anyway, you didn’t notice anything yesterday and…”

“Yesterday!?”

Oh fuck.

"I don't have to explain myself to you," Jigen said, like a rebellious teenager, caught by his parents. He pulled a packet of cigarettes from his jacket pocket, and with it he pulled a note that fell to the floor. Lupin and Jigen looked at each other, then both looked down.

“Thank you for tonight and yesterday evening ~ Fujiko," said a note decorated with a mark of red lip.

Lupin and Jigen looked at each other again.

Jigen threw himself at the door, probably only by a miracle avoiding a shot from Walther.

“Damn you, Fujiko!” echoed around the town.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now it's time to disappear for the next 84 years. See ya.


End file.
